Make it up as you go lamb casserole


Slow cooking is a great way of cooking without cooking, or at least without being tied to the hob. I have done my fair share of stirring pans and pots with both hands lately and a break from high intense cooking tempted me today. As luck would have it, there were lamb neck chops to play with and there were perfect for what I wanted to make, a casserole.

To tell you the truth, I was a little bit lost in regards to what flavours and casserole base to use. Most of my cooking features venison, chicken or fish and lamb is a rare treat. We were given these chops and they had been sitting in the freezer, waiting for the right moment. To do them justice, I scanned the internet for the very best recipe, but there wasn't a single that completely floated my boat. Instead I used ideas from several and made up my own recipe, one that I probably couldn't replicate even if I tried. That's the real downside with haphazard cooking, which I'm the queen of. When you happen to make something seriously tasty, the chance of making it taste the same next time is very slim.

By documenting the ingredients and the process, I may stand a fighting change this time. Here it is:

3 lamb neck chops
3 parsnips, chopped into chunks
3 carrots, chopped into chunks
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tsp English mustard
400 ml beef stock
1/3 cup broth mix (red lentils, peas and pearl barley)
salt & pepper
rosemary
thyme
sage

Oh, look at that! Honestly, I didn't try to make a pattern. Pretty though.


1. Prepare the vegetables.


2. Get the trimmings ready.


3. Get the seasoning ready.

I'm lucky to have access to some fresh herbs. During the summer I pick and dry them, to reduce the need for shop bought herbs.


4. In a casserole pot for the oven, add all the trimmings and seasoning. Stir well.


5. Add the vegetables.


6. Cut all visible fat off the chops. 

You can see that there is a little left on these ones and after half the cooking time, the sauce looked far too fatty for my liking. I should have cut off more. It ended up tasting fine though, but it still could have done with less fat.


7. Add the meat to the tomato mixture and make sure to push it into the liquid.


8. Pop the lid on and cook for 3 hours at 150 degrees. Stir once every hour.


9. Take it out and check that is it properly cooked. The meat should be melt in your mouth tender and they vegetables cooked through.


10. Serve and enjoy.

I was really worried about the fat contents of the sauce, as the last lamb casserole I made was a disaster. I hadn't cut away enough fat that time and it was pretty much inedible. This time I was fully prepared to fish out the meat and discard the rest, but it wasn't necessary. After the halfway checkpoint, I think the broth mix soaked up the excess without actually tasting of fat.



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